Murder suspect arrested after Sylmar standoff

January 14, 2010 12:00:00 AM PST

By Lisa Hernandez and Sid Garcia

SYLMAR, Calif. --

A murder suspect is behind bars after an early morning standoff with police. Officers got a call about a shooting at a tattoo parlor in Panorama City. The case led to a house in Sylmar. A woman's body was found at the second location. The man in his 30s was taken into custody shortly after 4 a.m. on the 14800 block of Cobalt Street. His name was not immediately released.

The victim's body was carried out of the garage of her boyfriend's parents' home in Sylmar Thursday. The motive behind the 29-year-old woman's murder was still being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.

The victim and her boyfriend worked at Painful Pleasures tattoo parlor on Woodman Avenue in Panorama City.

The landlord and his assistant boarded up the shop Thursday afternoon.

Inside is where the crime allegedly took place. Police said the man fatally shot his girlfriend, then stuffed her body in a drum and then transported it to the Sylmar home.

"Here you see that she tried to grab onto the wall, trying to pick herself up," said Zaira Castillo, who knew the victim. "I guess he dragged her or she tried to do something in the bathroom, because there is more broken glass in there."

According to police, the suspect took his girlfriend's body from the tattoo parlor to his parents' house in Sylmar at about 10 p.m. Wednesday. That is when the standoff began that lasted about six hours.

"SWAT was called out. They spent a couple hours negotiating with this person, trying to talk this person out, and ultimately was successful," said LAPD Captain Dwayne Hayakawa. "This person did come out, did surrender, so we have him in custody."

Neighbors were evacuated during the standoff and allowed to go back after the suspect was taken into custody.

Thursday afternoon police were still trying to piece together exactly what happened at both locations.